Chicken Soup for the Soul

Annie crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "Like it was even a day out. Just the giddy musings of a possible pr- madwoman." Her lips curled up in a smile. "You look silly." She felt bad, watching him lie there and snuffle. She wished she had some way of helping him, but there was really no cure for a cold better than time. Annie crossed the room and sat on the edge of his bed when he made space. He suggested she leave and she rolled her eyes. "Mm, you'd love to be rid of me, wouldn't you? But nah, it's my day off, and I've probably already ingested your germs, so there's no point in me leaving now." She chuckled. She figured she should probably try to avoid getting sick, but she wasn't sure of anything yet, anyway, and Annie didn't want to abandon Derald to fight off this bug alone. Annie looked up when she noticed movement by the door, and smiled when she saw it was Dusk. "Hey, girl!" she said happily, giggling as the dog licked her nose. "It's very good to see you. You look fabulous." She was relieved to see the dog up and about again. It seemed things were back to normal. Mostly. "So, what do you want me to do? I can read you a book, I can make soup, I can just sit here and poke you in the arm to distract you from the cold..."   She tapped his arm experimentally with her pointer finger.

Annie laughed at Derald's reluctance to ask for her help. She stood up again and turned to face him. "Soup it is. Luckily, I already know where everything is in the kitchen. Sort of." She figured she knew at least as well as he did, what with their pancake experience. Annie wiggled her fingers in the air to wave goodbye and headed down to the kitchen. How did one make soup again? She dug around until she found a pot, and put some water in it, and set it to heat up. While the water boiled, Annie searched the kitchen for all manner of ingredients. After a few minutes, she came up with some pieces of chicken, some celery, an onion, some carrots, some bay leaves and thyme, basil, and finally some dry noodles. It was fairly easy to work with the food here, considering the games had left Derald quite rich. Annie pursed her lips. There were plenty in the district that were starving, but that wasn't the cause at hand. She plopped everything except the noodles in the water and slowly cooked the chicken, watching the water become broth, and skimming off the top. She cleaned her hands and continued, using the broth with the vegetables, leftover chicken, and noodles, which Annie cooked in the broth. Soon the soon was ready and she tasted it with a little spoon. Annie shrugged. It definitely wasn't the best chicken soup ever made, but it would have to do. She added a pinch of salt, stirred, and poured a few cups of it into a bowl. She put the bowl on a plate, grabbed another spoon, and carefully carried it back up to Derald's room, taking light steps so it wouldn't spill. Annie was relieved she'd left the door open. She smiled and placed the soup on a little table that I'm just going to assume is there, then poked Derald in the arm. "Back."

Annie stirred the soup slowly with the spoon, then scooped some up. She held the spoon out for Derald to either eat the soup directly from or take in his hand to feed to himself. "They were very adventurous and exciting. I bet I know your kitchen better than you do now. Who put all that stuff there, anyway?" She sat on the floor next to his bed, a smile on her face despite Derald's sleepy attitude. "Did you fall asleep? Crap, did I wake you up? Forget the soup, you should get some rest." She looked up at him with mild concern, when she suddenly noticed the medicine box out of the corner of her eye. "Smart," she said with a nod, gesturing to the box. "What'd you take?" Annie didn't want to keep bugging him if he was half-asleep, and he looked pretty drowsy, but she'd rather deprive him of a few more moments of rest than end up accidentally killing him by mixing pills into his food or something when he'd already taken some. She supported her weight with one hand on the ground and used the other to lightly brush the hair out of his face. Annie couldn't help thinking he looked like a sad little puppy, and wasn't sure whether she wanted to giggle or pity him. Probably both, she decided, bringing her other hand back down to sit in her lap.

Annie chuckled as Derald sipped the soup directly from the spoon with his mouth. The sad puppy resemblance was not exactly fading. She winced a bit as he coughed. "Lying down is better rest than nothing, but sleep is better." Annie squeezed his hand lightly when he reached out to hold it, then rested it back on her lap. "Thanks, but I think I'm pretty far from becoming a master soup chef. And don't worry about it. I'm not cool enough to have anything better to do anyway, and I like taking care of people. Besides, it's not like you're throwing up all over the place. It's just a flu." She tilted her head to the side, letting her eyelids fall halfway closed. The Capitol may have been a screwed-up, devastatingly corrupt, ego-maniacal agency of gluttony, greed, torture, and death, but they sure knew how to build a house. Even the floor where Annie was sitting was quite comfortable. Her eyes snapped open at Derald's question, and she smiled. "Hmmmm," she began, pretending she had to think about it. "Maybe because I'm an idiot too. Or maybe because you're not an idiot. You're strong and funny and sweet and handsome and despite the fact that I know you've seen a lot of dark stuff, you still manage to see the good in everyone and everything. It also helps that we happen to get along." Annie shrugged.  "You're my best friend, Derald. My first friend. You're the most amazing person I know. How could I not love you?"  

Annie's eyelids had fallen completely shut by now and she leaned her shoulder and back against the wall. She knew Derald was basically high on fever and drugs and half-asleep at the moment, but she couldn't help smiling. "Thanks, but I'm pretty sure you have no idea what you're saying right now." She opened her eyes and looked up at him again when he mentioned naming their possible future 'plus one.' Annie laughed. How much aspirin did he take? she wondered, somewhat amused. Then again, we brought it up before, and I'm fairly sure he was lucid and mostly coherent that time. She pursed her lips, thinking for a minute. "I don't know, but it's looking like we may have to decide sooner rather than later..." Annie muttered. "Depends on the baby, I guess. Maybe we should go with something that works well for any gender, just in case. What would you suggest?" She'd been trying to think of what it would be like, living with a baby. Being a mother, what their kid would look like, where they would live. Annie figured her own house was a bit crowded for another addition, much less two, if Derald moved in, and this house had plenty of room. Besides, Derald had certainly fought for it. Annie tried not to grimace. She had intended to think nice, happy thoughts, not remember violent past events. Derald asked if she was tired and she shrugged. "Just comfortable. You should sleep."

Annie smiled at Derald's name suggestion. "Cute, I like it. Alex is definitely a name to strongly consider," she replied. It was weird to think about kids, but it was nice. Annie still felt young. She knew she was over reaping age, and almost older than what was technically considered a teen. Her mom had waited longer to have kids, but the life expectancy wasn't exactly stellar in their world. Annie figured the kids of a victor would have a better chance than a starving single mother in District 12 or something. All they'd have to worry about would basically be the reaping. Maybe they'd get lucky and never get picked, or at least never have to go in. Can kids inherit their father's luck? Annie didn't want to think about her children dying, so she turned her attention back to the loopy Derald. She was pleased to see him start drifting off when he said her name again."Mhm?" she asked, mostly just to acknowledge that he'd spoken. She was not prepared for what came next. Sure, they'd been talking about kids, and they'd been together for a while, but it felt like it was out of nowhere. She doubted Derald would remember proposing when he woke up, much less how she responded. So why does it feel important? she wondered. Annie took a deep breath and patted him lightly on the head. "Of course, Derald. Now go to sleep."

Annie awoke suddenly at the sound of someone entering the room. Her dreams had been difficult to differentiate from one another, mostly just a large stream of flowing colors, the occasional face or snippet of memory floating by along the way. She was mildly surprised to find herself on the bed instead of on the floor. She shifted over and glanced at Derald. He was facing the opposite way and appeared to be asleep. Annie guessed he'd moved her, unless she'd randomly developed sleepwalking tendencies. Annie looked up a little further and noticed Tess standing there, checking Derald's fever.  Annie smiled and rubbed her closed eyes with her hand. "Hi, sorry," she whispered. "He, uh, he has some flu cold thing. He took some aspirin and I made him soup." She searched her brain to see if there was anything else she thought Tess might need to know. She wasn't totally awake yet, and she was still working on becoming fully lucid. Annie pushed her hair out of her face and gently rolled off the bed. Her nap had been fairly short, but she was feeling much more energized now. She'd been feeling tired a lot lately and she appreciated the temporary lapse. She walked over to Tess, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "Um, Tess?" Annie said quietly. "You don't have kids, do you?"

Annie widened her eyes at Tess's question. "What? No, nothing like that. He's a perfectly capable boyfriend." She shook her head. That certainly wasn't the problem. She didn't even think there was a problem, really, she was just nervous. She wanted to tell Derald, but she wasn't sure yet, and didn't want to go counting her chickens before they hatched or whatever. Annie's only slight problem was the unrealistic but naggy little tiny fear in the back of her head that wondered if, despite them joking about kids all the time now and that he had sort of tried to propose in his loopy, feverish state, he wouldn't react well to the news if she was correct in her suspicions. That wasn't bothering her much though, as most of her mind doubted that would happen. She just hated not telling him, but Annie had made up her mind about not telling him until she was absolutely sure. She hadn't even begun to worry about actually being a parent yet. "It's nothing. Really. Just, uh, just worried bout him, I guess, but he'll be fine."

Annie smiled weakly and shook her head. "Thanks, Tess, and I appreciate it, I really do, but it's really nothing yet. Just a weird feeling. I swear if I need guidance, I'll come to you." She didn't mean to shut the other girl out, but she didn't want to jinx the possibility by telling someone. Annie's eyes flitted over to Derald again momentarily, watching his chest rise and fall as he breathed. She looked back at Tess after a few seconds, taking a deep breath. "Um, I think I actually have to go- I'm really sorry, I wish I could be here when he woke up, or just keep him company, but now that it's a bit later I have to do some stuff back home. Uh..." Annie trailed off, taking a moment to organize her racing thoughts. "I'll come back. Later. Like, in a few hours, or tonight, or something. To check on him. I'm really sorry." She glanced around to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything and leaned over to kiss Derald on the head as lightly as possible so she could keep from waking him up. She straightened up again and gave Tess a quick hug. "Thank you, though. I hope he feels better." Annie nodded and made her way out the door. "Sorry, I'll see you later!" she called back, waving her hand behind her. Annie left the victor house feeling rude and awkward and relieved. She really did need to attend to some things at home, but mostly she just felt the sudden urge to be alone for a few minutes, at home, maybe with the dogs.